Free summer meal program for children

The Seattle Human Services Department’s Summer Food Service Program will provide free meals and snacks for children 1-18 at about 90 sites across the city, including one in Greenwood and one in Bitter Lake.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture funds the program, also known as “Summer Sack Lunch,” which runs from today through Aug. 26. The meals are served at sites where at least half the children are eligible for free or reduced price school lunches.

Thanks to a $225,000 grant from the Walmart Foundation, the 2011 program includes several enhancements:

Books! The Seattle Public Library will provide fun and educational programming, such as story times in five different languages. Free books will also be given to children at story time sites;

Fresh produce: The Puget Sound Food Network will help provide bags of fresh produce from local farms for families to take home for the weekend; and

Saturday sites: Several meal sites will offer lunch on Saturdays as a pilot project

Some of the meal sites offer the food program to children enrolled in specific activity programs, but the majority offer meals to all children 18 years old.

Summer Sack Lunch will be provided at Sandel Park Playground, 9053 1st Ave. NW, from 12-1 p.m. Monday through Friday; and at the Bitter Lake Community Center, 13035 Linden Ave. N., from 12-1 p.m. and 3-4 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Click here to find the program site nearest you; and here for links to a calendar listing menus for every breakfast, lunch and snack.